I have always done 1 year leases. It’s just what I’ve done I didn’t know any better. Since I found this site, I have been considering going to M2M. I googled the topic and have read the pros and cons of both, but am curious as to what everyone on here thinks. Which do you primarily do, and your thoughts on the pros and cons. Thanks. --174.199.xx.xxx

I normally do leases, but after attending the convention - I might consider M2M if I can get a M2M fee included with the rent. I am still on the fence about this one as we have lake effect snow here so move out in the winter can be brutial --24.101.xxx.xx

I dont see any reason to use mtm. Lease break fees are an entire additional source of income. We never not know when someone is moving. On every lease renewal, the rents are raised. You can give any tenant tenant a 30 day notice to vacate, they always leave in our case. They leave early a lot of time but the apt is still paid for and you get a chance to renovate and re rent without the tenant living there. You control when the apt is available by asking 60 days in advance whether they are renewing or not. What does a mtm do for you, vacancies in the dead of winter with no notice from tenant? --73.227.xxx.xxx

I do both. Jury is still out, but I'm leaning more towards leases, but nothing like m2m to clear out a mistake. I'm trying to screen better to eliminate mistakes. --172.56.xx.xxx

Hope this helps and whatever you decide works out. --73.120.xx.xxx

--73.102.xxx.xxx

BRAD --73.102.xxx.xxx

(college) tenants moving in Aug 1. We are able to update and renovate apt that are already rented but not occupied and we will collect a total of $4800 more a yr on those 2 units. Yes please leave. lol --73.227.xxx.xxx

Anyone can break any lease at any time for any reason, but at least in that circumstance, you can legally retain their Security Deposit to cover any financial damages, and you can charge an ELT if you are able to do that in your market. And most tenants, if they have to break a lease, want to work with you to get it re-rented quickly, to mitigate THEIR damages as well. --50.82.xxx.xx

I only do MTM, because of where we are. In any other state I would probably do a lease. I have seen too many times how a lease works against a LL in court. I have incredibly high screening standards and my average tenant stays 5 years.... on a MTM. The threat of tenants moving in winter should not be a deciding factor, nobody wants to move in the winter. If the reason was so compelling they would leave if they had a lease or not. Sometimes things go bad and you need to have leverage. You should spend a few hours in your housing court to get a feel for how things operate there, that’s when I decided to do MTM only. Unless it’s a housing voucher, then MA doesn’t give you a choice and forces you to do a year lease- that should tell you everything you need to know about why a lease is not in your best interest. --71.10.xxx.xxx

Brad 20,000 thank you for your insight, you always post in a very understandable concise way and I have learned a great deal from you. I wasn’t able to go to the convention, I hope to go next year. RentsDue, Ill have to make some time to go sit in on my housing court. Where I stand now is, I screen extremely well, (always did, but really upped it after being on here), I have ELT fees, and a very well written lease (that I polished up with my attorney after being on here), I need to see what my housing court does, because I’m just thinking for example, if I have a tenant that violates the lease by say storing stuff in a common area, and they don’t cure it after getting notice, will it be easier to end the tenancy with a M2M or will a judge evict. I won’t have my answer till I observe housing court, thank you everyone. --174.199.xx.xxx

This year is our ninth anniversary ll'ing. Out of all the houses/tenants we've been running, I've only used the MTM card on a paying tenant once. (A female couple-- they both screened clean for criminal-- one of them worked 80-hr weeks at the nursing home-- the other was "about to apply" wherever, mmhmmm-- after I approved them, the town grapevine mentioned they were active in the local drug scene-- they had regular enough early-morning visitors, I couldn't tell if it was drugs or prostitution-- goodbye. I gave them notice on Thanksgiving; they were out on Christmas Eve.) --96.46.xxx.xx

This was the case that made the decision for me. One of our local LLs had a tenant that violated the no pet policy and brought in a pit bull. They served a NTQ and the tenant refused to get rid of dog so they moved to evict based on not curing the lease violation. The LLs insurance company had cancelled their insurance at this point because of the pit bull. The Judge , who happens to be a huge animal advocate, refuses to evict . He tells the LL that he is still insurable through the state insurance pool ( at an extreme premium) and unless he can prove it’s a financial hardship there will be no eviction. He must wait until lease is up and not renew. That was even before ESAs. --71.10.xxx.xxx

RentsDue, that is exactly why I’m considering going M2M, I don’t want to have a lease with a set of “rules” that a judge simply won’t evict if they violate. Im on the fence, because I understand and agree with the pros of a lease, but what good are clauses in a lease if the housing court judge doesn’t think the lease violation is severe enough to evict. Thanks for the insight, I’m going to sit in on my housing court. It’s actually very frustrating, a violation of the lease should result in an eviction order from the Judge, but I’ve heard that is not always the case. Another question then, couldn’t the same happen with a M2M, the judge decides not to terminate a tenancy?? --174.199.xx.xxx

Instead, you say, "This is your 30/60/whatever days' notice." And when they say, "But I luuuuuv it here! Why?!" you just stand strong and don't give them Reasons to argue with. --107.77.xxx.xx

I’ve never seen a judge refuse to let a LL terminate for no-cause. There is nothing to argue or prove. There is no question as to whether or not a violation merits terminating the tenancy. The tenancy is being terminated by terms previously agreed to by both parties. As Deanna stated, that is the whole reason for terminating “ no cause” instead of “ cause”. That would be the judge allowing them possession indefinitely and we aren’t there...yet. Being “ no cause” does give the tenant a better possibility of being granted a stay. But , like most other things, I had had a judge grant stays to a tenant who was evicted for non payment. They have no authority to do that, but do it anyway. --174.199.xx.xxx

Like I said I have both m2m and leases. There are a couple of the m2m tenants who are very long term. I've had one who left after 3 months in the dead of winter and another who I terminated. Outside of those two, I've not had a problem. I'd like to say that leases provide some predictability, but that depends on the tenant base. If they don't care about lease terms, they certainly won't care about ELTs. The tenants I have in leases are known quantities that I want to keep. Also, leases tend to make a MFH more valuable IMO if you're looking to sell. I'm inclined to go for the better tenant that I don't mind putting into a lease, but the tenant base has to support that. If it doesn't, m2m is the way to go. --172.58.xxx.xxx

RentsDue, that is what I meant, a stay. I’m sorry I’m not familiar with the terms. The reason I’m giving the lease vs M2M some thought is as I said I have always done a 1year lease. I’ve been lucky and had ok tenants, and a great tenant that stayed for 4 plus years. My current tenant has been in the unit for 3 months and seems to always test the terms of the lease, I’ve giving him 2 cure or quit notices already. He cured the issue each time, but Im just thinking 1 day he won’t. That got me thinking a M2M would have been better because I’d just get rid of him, with the lease I’m stuck playing this game for the next 7 months. Thanks for the advice RentsDue and everyone else that responded. --174.192.xx.xxx

The other HUGE advantage with a MTM is that you can increase rent whenever you need to, not just at the end of their lease. --71.10.xxx.xxx

I waffle back and forth about lease vs mtm. I would like to 1yr lease that goes mtm.. but my husband like mtm. It has worked well for us. --165.201.xxx.xxx